Scent
by Alainne1
Summary: Kidnapping Lucy was just one of Minerva's simple schemes to distract Fairy Tail in the Great Magic Games. The actions of Rogue and Sting made the story much more complicated, dangerous and devastating. [WARNING: Abuse, Rated M for a reason, SMUT, violence] The fic gets more and more NaLu towards the end, but a warning for any NaLu-fans is in place: 1st chapter might be shocking!
1. The Incident

Through her sleep, Lucy registered a faint sound that she drowsily associated with an opening window. She sensed an unfamiliar person hovering above her hotel room bed and she was about to scream when she realized that somebody taped her mouth, held her down and was holding a damp cloth under her nose. It smelled faintly sweet.

"Shh… Don't struggle," an unfamiliar voice said.

She tried to get a glimpse of her attacker, but her vision was already getting blurry as her conscious was fading. Soon she was sleeping again.

###

When Lucy awoke she couldn't recognize where she was. The room was white and windowless. Not like a dungeon or a cell but more like a hospital room with a simple bed, a chair and a table. She was lying on the bed and as she rose she realized that her left hand was handcuffed to the bed.

"My keys!" she voiced, panicking as she couldn't find the small pouch from her hips. So her attackers knew who she was. Strangely, it was also calming. Now her guild could more likely find out who the attackers were. Thinking of her friends both gave her hope and made her sad. In her windowless room she couldn't tell what time it was, so perhaps they already knew. She smiled tears in her eyes when she realized that most likely Natsu was already raising a havoc to find her.

Truth to be told, Lucy wasn't quite as terrified as she could have been. It was a kidnapping, sure, but it wasn't like the first time something like this happened. Or the second. Her combat skills weren't so impressive, thus she was easy to abduct and then again her importance to some of the key members of Fairy Tail was high. It was, however annoying, actually quite logical.

She was starting to get hungry and tried to hear if there was anyone outside the room. When she concentrated in listening, she realized that she couldn't hear a thing. No sounds of birds or wind, no steps, no doors being opened or closed, not even the humming that seemed to be ever present in every house. It felt almost like there was no outside world and this room alone was floating in emptiness.

"Hello? Anybody? I'm hungry!" she cried out loud. Her voice sounded peculiar in the dead silent room. No answer came.

###

Rogue and Sting were standing on the other side of the door. They could see Lucy sitting on her bed. The door that seemed like solid wood on the inside of the room only seemed like it. In reality, people standing on the other side could observe the room easily, although magic made the view slightly wavering and subdued. They saw that Lucy was opening her mouth to say something but of course the sound didn't make it through the protective barrier. The barrier was there to deaden all the noise, every hint of scent, even her thoughts. All her presence was sealed inside the room according to Minerva's instructions.

They didn't need to stand there watching her. She had no means of escaping. Actually they weren't supposed to be there watching her at all. They were supposed to be getting ready for the next day of the games. She wasn't their responsibility anymore. It was their job to just abduct her – a job that was ridiculously easy by the way. Now Minerva was keeping her as long as she needed her absence to distract her guild. They could easily believe that the fairies were stupid enough to be distracted by the absence of this little blondie. Mission was simple and completed.

Still, there they stood silently watching the girl. They could feel the intensity flowing from each other. Both were equally tranced watching her. They wanted to go in the room. Smell her, feel her, and hear her. They didn't like being outside the barrier.

At first, it was difficult to understand. The girl was sure attractive, but it's not like Sting and Rogue were tranced to watch and smell every attractive girl they encountered. There was something else that made the two dragon slayers to loose most of their common sense. It was not Lucy – it was the one searching her most even at this very moment.

Natsu's scent was all over the girl. It was the first thought the two dragon slayers encountered when entering her hotel room the previous night. In the midst of her strawberry-smelling hair, the sweet fragrance she sometimes used and the natural, feminine scent of hers, there was the unmistakable tang of their rival dragon slayer. The overflowing smell of the one who embarrassingly defeated both of them in their battle during the fourth day. Natsu Dragneel considered this woman as _his_ and it made her completely irresistible to his rivals.

"We should leave," Rogue finally said.

"Shut up," Sting mumbled back. Both had their eyes still fixed to Lucy. "I want to rip of her clothes and fuck her senseless. Not to stop until she's mine."

Rogue took a sharp breath when he heard his partner's words. It had required all his self-control to even suggest leaving. Sting's words seemed to bring down all the walls in his mind. The urge to take the woman was too strong. The urge to overpower their rival by taking his mate. Rogue let his breath out and lift his finger to almost touch the wavering air that marked the magical barrier. You could just step through the barrier. She was so close. Unable to do anything if they now decided to take her. So weak.

Rogue felt his partner tensing beside him. He was tensed as well. So tense he could explode. He held his hand so close to the barrier that he could feel the tingling sensation the barrier gave to the tip of his finger.

"Let's do it," Rogue said.

###

Lucy was sitting on the bed, unable to hear anything and unable to do anything. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. Her sense of time was starting to disappear and although she strongly believed in her friends, the fact that she yet had any idea who was behind the kidnapping made her uneasy.

Lucy jumped on her bed when the tiniest crackling sound made its way to her ears. She let out a squeal when she noticed the white door wavering slightly as if it wasn't made of wood. Then a finger came through the door and she now realized it was not solid at all, but a magic-made mirage of some sort. The finger was followed by a hand, the hand by a body and the body by another. She now recognized the two Sabertooth dragon slayers standing in front of her. Their gazes were so intense it intimidated her for a moment. She just sit there on her bed her back pressed against the wall.

Her mind began to race. She remembered the dragon slayers as part of team Sabertooth. To her best knowledge they were arrogant trouble makers, juniors to Natsu. She recalled their names, Sting and Rogue. She hadn't seen them fighting because she had been in the hospital. But they were strong. Not stronger than Natsu, but definitely stronger than her. She soon also realized that the motive behind the kidnapping had to be the Games. To distract Fairy Tail. She knew Natsu wouldn't concentrate in the games if she was missing. They would probably just quit the games. And if the motive was mainly the winning the games, then she would be released when Fairy Tail quit. It could be even blackmailing. All in all, they were not after her. She was merely a tool to obtain their victory.

Lucy felt she was starting to get angrier. She hated Sabertooth for not playing fair. She hated the fact that she was becoming the reason for the loss of hear guild. She met the gaze of the two dragon slayers now anger in her eyes. She wanted to scream at them and take out the anger. But when she once again felt their intense gaze on her she couldn't say anything. Their eyes were burning, their faces were expressionless and their bodies tense. Suddenly she felt she was a pray.

Lucy felt their eyes examining her. She realized that both males were breathing heavily. The blond started moving slowly towards her and his partner followed him in unison. It was as if their lives were synced. They slowly drew nearer and she was shrinking to the corner of her bed. Closing up the space between them she felt the dragon slayers smelling her.

As intimidated as Lucy was, she didn't sense bad intensions from them. Their urge was so strong it was pressuring her from every side. She hadn't felt anything like this before. The two dragon slayers breathed in her scent and their excitement was palpable. The closer they came the more agitated they became. The room was so tense, anything might initiate the explosion.

Slowly their intense glares were beginning to affect her. She felt her body respond to the sexual tension hanging in the air. Her breathing got heavier as her eyes travelled downwards to find the bulges in their pants. A small whine escaped her lips launching the two males into action. She instantly felt four hands on her lifting her from the corner of the bed. In a second, the handcuff locking her to the bed was removed and the blond lift her to her feet. She was startled by the speed things were happening.

Rogue was now standing behind her keeping her still as Sting pulled her tank top over her head in one fast movement. Her bra was removed instantly releasing her heavy breasts. She let out a squeal causing Rogue to bring his hands over her mouth. Sting lower his head to her level and whispered with a faint smile on his lips:

"There nothing you can do and nobody can hear you."

Lucy felt her heart racing and blood rushing through her veins. Her mind could not keep up anymore and she couldn't believe how her body was betraying her. These were her enemies, her kidnappers. She should be afraid for her life! Why was her body so responsive towards them? She felt ashamed and her face was reddening as the blond in front of her was inspecting her reaction.

"Oh, you look so delicious," Sting said before taking her hard nipple in his mouth.

Her cry was muffled against Rogue's hands that were fast replaced by his lips when he turned her head to face his. Sting biting her nipple made her cry into Rogue's mouth giving his tongue an easy access to explore her mouth. She was strenghtless to fight back and her mind just followed as a spectator when Sting's hands found their way in her panties. Her clothes gave little resistance to the eagerness of the two dragon slayers and her body was giving in more and more all the time. She felt the four hands and the two mouths on her. They were touching, tasting and smelling her, intoxicated and impatient. She registered the surprised and appreciative groan from Sting's mouth when his fingers reached her wetness. She had just enough time to realize how wet she actually was, before she screamed in surprise as Sting entered her. His thrusts were hard, fast and impatient. Rogue kept her on her feet when they started to falter. She could feel the hardness in Rogues pants behind him every time she was pressed against him. He was waiting for his turn.

Sting came fast and harsh with a loud moan of pleasure. As soon as he released her from her grip, Rogue threw her on the bed, released himself from his pants and thrust into her. He was as eager and impatient, but slower. Lucy's body that had had trouble keeping up with Sting's pace was now able to adapt better. Her moans were getting louder and she felt the familiar warmness piling up in her stomach. Rogue moved inside her and his thrusts were getting faster. She was nearing her orgasm fast and her violent moans pushed Rogue finally over edge. Rogue's body gradually softened as he laid on top of her.

During the day, they fucked her two more times. By the end of it, she was sore all over and had bite marks in her breasts and thighs. She was exhausted, but the two seemingly content dragon slayers laying in the small bed beside her made her relaxed.

When she was returned to her guild the next day, everyone where happy to find her in good health and unharmed. But when she saw the pained look on Natsu's face, she finally realized what had happened and tears filled her eyes. Natsu knew. They wanted Natsu to know. This was the bestiality of dragon slayers.

Natsu was beside her in a flash. He pressed her head to his shoulder smothering her sobs. Natsu tried to hide his disgust of her smell.

"Lucy, it does not matter," he softly spoke to her hair. "It's okay. It doesn't matter. I will kill Sting and Rogue."

###

**AN:** This was the first fic I have ever written. It didn't end up being quite what I had in my mind before starting. Feedback is welcome. :)

Edit: This evolved from a one-shot to a slightly longer story. Enjoy the second chapter.


	2. Reaction

**AN: **What was initially supposed to be a one-shot, evolved to something slightly longer. I just couldn't silence the story in my head and had to write it :)

###

Natsu was holding sobbing Lucy in his arms, while the rest of the guild members were starting the celebrations for her safe return.

Lucy was returned to the guild one day after the Great Magic Games were finished. Fairy Tail hadn't participated in the final day, and it was no surprise that Sabertooth overpowered the rest of the participating guilds easily. The audience had been bewildered, when Fairy Tail announced their withdrawal from the competition. Their demand for explanation fell on deaf ears. Fairy Tail remained silent.

Inside the guild was boiling but everybody tried to keep their frustration hidden. It was decided. It was for Lucy. Lucy didn't need her friends blaming her for their loss. She probably blamed herself enough already.

But no one in the guild suffered as Natsu. Natsu's head was filled with thoughts. Images of Sting and Rogue claiming his Lucy. _His mate_. In his head, Natsu saw their hands touching her skin, their mouths sucking her lips. He felt sick and hammered. It was worse than getting beat up in a fight. It was worse than being in a car, for God's sake! And the most difficult thing was that he couldn't show it. He tried to keep brave face for Lucy, even if he was raging inside. He didn't want anybody else to find out what Lucy had been through. At least anybody else than Gajeel and Wendy.

The other two dragon slayers of Fairy Tail smelled Sting and Rogue all over Lucy the moment she came to their sight. Wendy was slightly too young to understand what exactly had happened. She just sensed something was off. But Gajeel's eyes had narrowed and his expression turned to stone. He knew exactly what the two younger dragon slayers had done to Lucy. He knew how dragon slayers functioned. One look to Natsu's pained face told him what his junior was going through.

There was no great friendship between Natsu and Gajeel, but being both dragon slayers, there were times when they felt closer to each other than to anybody else in the guild. They understood each other when their behavior was determined by their dragon traits and this was one of those moments.

While the rest of the guild was merrily celebrating Lucy's safe return, Gajeel and Wendy wearily approached Natsu. Natsu was still holding Lucy in his arms and gently stroking her hair. When he felt the two dragon slayers close, he spoke silently:

"Wendy, take care of Lucy. Heal her wounds and make her rest. Do everything you can to make her happy again."

Wendy took sobbing Lucy from Natsu's arms and Natsu rose slowly.

"I'll come with you," Gajeel said and Natsu just nodded. Erza and Gray came to give Wendy a hand with Lucy, but like the rest of the guild members, they didn't seem to notice the graveness of the dragon slayers. It suited Natsu well. He didn't want them knowing, what he was about to do anyway. On the outside, he was still able to keep his calm. On the inside, he was furious.

###

"STING! ROGUE! COME OUT NOW!"

A roar was carried inside the quarters of Sabertooth in Crocus. Both Sting and Rogue glanced to the window attentively. Their bodies were electrified. They had known this was coming. They smelled Natsu's fury all the way from the street and they smelled Gajeel as well.

Minerva gave them a lopsided smile.

"You shouldn't start a game, if you're not ready to take the consequences," she maliciously told them, smiling cruelly.

The dragon slayers rose silently and walked to the door. There was nothing else they could do. They couldn't run even though they now realized they probably couldn't win either. Natsu had beaten them in the Games and he would beat them now. Nevertheless, their pride forced them to face their rival. Rogue scolded himself for starting this war, but when he remembered the incident with the woman, he knew leaving her alone hadn't been an option. It was the bestial side in them that had decided to claim the woman, not their brain. It would never be possible for a dragon slayer to diminish the beast inside. Rogue and Sting knew that soon they would have to face to beast they had awoken.

They saw Natsu standing on the other side of the street. His position was tense and his glare fixed to them. Small flames were flickering on his body. His eyes were empty. Not showing any understanding or thought. Blank, and yet full of intense rage they felt in their spines. They saw Gajeel standing few steps behind Natsu. He was here to take care of his friend, not to participate in the fight, they knew. This was not his fight. Gajeel was serious and silent, but Rogue could feel his eyes mocking: "_Idiots."_

No words were exchanged. There was no need. Natsu was growling when he started to move. Sting and Rogue had just the time to register scales emerging to Natsu's face and arms when Natsu launched himself onto them. Rogue hit the ground first as Natsu's flaming fist hit him and a second later he heard a nasty crack followed by Sting's cry of agony. This was bad. Rogue got up and was preparing for an attack but Natsu was faster and threw him across the street. Hitting the wall and collapsing to the ground, Rogue felt despair flowing over him. Natsu was faster and stronger than he had been in the Games. He moved like an animal and roared with extreme power. Rogue wasn't sure, if there was any humane control in Natsu anymore. He was a dragon and this dragon wanted his kill.

Rogue felt Natsu pressing him to the ground. A fist in his face was accompanied by a roar of fury. The second punch brought the taste of blood in his mouth when his lips were crushed against his teeth. He felt pain shooting through his nose and registered crackling sound in his brain. "_His gonna kill me. I'm gonna die," _Rogue thought when his mind started fading. Soon he was surrounded by blackness. He only felt his pain and sounds around him were slurred. He knew this was the end for him.

###

Minerva had surrounded Sting and Rogue by her dark magic. They were out of Natsu's reach now. Natsu was on his knees on the ground, panting heavily. His mind was still filled with his intent to kill. To destroy the ones who had violated Lucy. His Lucy. He could not think straight from all his desire for vengeance.

"Enough," Minerva said in a cold tone. She was standing by the door of their quarters and Rogue and Sting were floating inside her darkness beside her. "I need these weak idiots alive. You've had your revenge."

Natsu couldn't comprehend anything. He stared hollowly the two dragon slayers he couldn't reach anymore. Gajeel stepped forward and lifted Natsu to his feet. Natsu's body was heavily exhausted from the fighting. He had been more dragon than ever before and the transformation quickly drained all energy from a dragon slayer. Gajeel knew. Gajeel understood.

Minerva nodded to Gajeel and turned to take bleeding twin dragon slayers inside. Gajeel tried to get Natsu moving, but Natsu just stood there, panting and staring hollowly at the now closed door. Gajeel sighed gently and lifted stupefied Natsu to piggyback.

"Let's get you home, you poor bastard," he said gentleness in his coarse voice.

**TBC**


	3. Understanding

A month had passed since the incident. A month that had been excruciatingly difficult for Natsu.

The encounter with Sting and Rogue had left him feeling hollow. Even if he was able to vent his anger, without his anger he was left face to face with his pain. He had truly tried to leave aside the pain inside him. He had tried to forget the scent that Lucy was now constantly bearing. He had tried to concentrate on Lucy's smiles and laughs. The sound of her voice and glistening of her blond hair. Every time he tried to hold Lucy, he imagined Sting or Rogue holding her. Every time he wanted to kiss Lucy, he imagined tasting the foreign taste of another male from her lips. He hated the dragon inside him and how it made it impossible to forget.

It had also been increasingly difficult to concentrate on Lucy's smiles and laughs, because they grew fewer and fewer as the time passed. At first, Natsu had been able to hide his feelings better and Lucy had been just happy to be in his arms and amongst her friends. Natsu knew that he couldn't get rid of the problem by just hiding it, but he couldn't come up with any other solution. He knew that Lucy was going through a lot of struggling, but he just wasn't able to bring himself to talk to Lucy. Weeks passed and Lucy gradually stopped smiling.

First Natsu didn't really notice it, but he had started to avoid Lucy whenever possible. They were now back in Magnolia and life was supposed to be back to normal. Everybody was getting over the loss in the Great Magic Games – after all, Sabertooth didn't win with fair play. Life was returning to normal. Time to time, Natsu argued with Gray and even enjoyed their fights before his moods sank again. Erza and Gray now knew that something had happened, but neither Natsu nor Lucy never revealed any details.

Gray had tried to begin a man-to-man conversation with Natsu, but it was doomed since the two rivals weren't really used to sharing their thoughts and emotions, or to have any civilized conversation, for that matter. Erza's attempts to ask Lucy what had happened during her abduction was equally doomed, mostly because Erza wasn't really famous for her emotional intelligence. Her blunt words, even with the kindest of intentions, could not possibly open Lucy up. Even Happy tried his best to understand his best friend's sorrow, but he was left with a feeling that his cat's intelligence wasn't quite enough to understand these human problems. All in all, times were grave for Team Natsu and there wasn't a single person around, who could have even began to untie the knot in Lucy's and Natsu's hearts and minds.

Natsu was now taking missions mostly alone. He felt he needed all the time he could get away from the guild. Away from Lucy. He was in a blind alley and he had no idea how to get out. He was able to breathe more freely every time he was far enough from Lucy not to smell her. But every time he left, he missed her incredibly. He missed her real scent – the one with some sweet berries he couldn't remember the name of, and the scent of her being a woman. It was the scent that made him crave for her and now it was spoiled. Gone. Covered in the awful smell of sex and other males on her.

###

During the first day of Natsu's disappearance, nobody really noticed he was gone. He had been so quiet lately, spending so much time alone. The second day, Happy flew into the common room.

"Have you seen Natsu today or yesterday?" he carefully asked from Erza and Gray, who were sitting at one of the heavy wooden tables. He was trying to speak quietly since every time Natsu was mentioned, Lucy's moods sank.

"Is he on a mission again?" Gray asked lazily. "He's been away a lot lately..."

"Not to my knowledge," Mirajane butted into the conversation.

"He just didn't come home yesterday," Happy said sadly. "I wonder where he has gone..."

"Natsu has disappeared?" asked Lucy, who clearly had heard the conversation despite of Happy's efforts.

"I don't know," Happy wailed. He loved his best friend and hated realize he didn't know where he was.

"Let's wait couple of days, I'm sure he'll come back," Mirajane assured and tried to comfort the awfully sad looking exceed.

###

After one week, Natsu was still gone. Lucy lied in her bed and her eyes were puffy from crying. She hadn't really left her house today, and not really yesterday either. She didn't feel like raising up. Erza and Gray had been knocking her door in the morning, demanding her to open up, but she didn't want to. They left when she repeatedly told them she was ill and it was contagious.

Lucy had been crying a lot that week. Everything between her and Natsu had been terrible for the whole month and now Natsu had completely disappeared without any explanation. Lucy couldn't restrain herself from rethinking the moment she saw Natsu after the incident. The pained expression on Natsu's face had revealed Lucy the truth she hadn't realized: Sting and Rogue had truly targeted Natsu instead of her!

A flood of emotions had washed over her. She had realized how badly Natsu was hurt. She felt used, even tricked. And she absolutely loathed herself for letting it happen. Sure, she didn't really have much choice, but she could have fought. She could have resisted more, she could have cried all the fucking time. But instead she had enjoyed! She could not understand how she had forgot Natsu and enjoyed what was happening. She loathed herself more than anything.

Lucy heard a very cautious knock on her door.

"Lucy, could you please let me in?" a silent voice asked. She recognized Levy.

"Sorry Levy, I'm ill and it's contagious!" Lucy yelled and waited for an answer.

For a while, Levy stayed silent behind the door. Then she whispered just loud enough for Lucy to hear her:

"Lucy, I know what happened. I know about Sting and Rogue. I really need to talk to you."

###

Levy was sitting on the sofa, when Lucy banged about in the kitchen making tea. Levy was highly embarrassed to be involved this deeply in other people's lives, but she also knew she had to help. Lucy was her friend and she was suffering. She had to try.

"Umm… Yeah.. Gajeel told me what happened with Natsu in the Sabertooth quarters," Levy started with a shy and silent voice. "And, umm, Gajeel.. He is really worried about Natsu. He's afraid that Natsu is too young to handle this alone."

Lucy was still in the midst of her tea-making-process. She was glad that she didn't have to look Levy in the eye. She was about to cry again.

"And umm.. Gajeel wants to help. We want to help you both," Levy was stumbling ahead. She took a long pause before continuing. "Can you tell me what really happened, Lucy? We can't help, if we don't know," she finished finally, her words almost dying halfway through the sentence.

Lucy sighed heavily when she brought the tea and sank to the sofa next to Levy. She felt Levy's hand gently landing on her shoulder as a consolation. She was all in tears again.

"Oh God, I hate myself!" Lucy started wailing. She felt Levy's presence stronger now and was wordlessly encouraged to continue. "I hate being so weak that I got kidnapped! Why is it always me? Why do they always come after me?" Lucy cried and felt how the flood gates of her emotions were starting to falter. It had been one month without telling this to anyone.

"And whenI was there – I don't even know where I was – I couldn't do anything! It's not like I could fight Sting and Rogue anyway... They are thousand times stronger than me and obviously they had taken away my keys. So sure, I didn't have much to say, really." Lucy was now getting more agitated. Tears were flooding from her eyes and she was really glad, it was Levy who was listening to her. Levy knew not to say anything.

"But the worst part," she continued, "is how it happened. I guess you have quite a good idea what they did to me. After all, Gajeel could also smell those two, right?" Lucy looked at Levy, who gave a small nod.

"I mean, the worst part…" Lucy felt a lump in her throat. This was difficult. Saying aloud something, that made you scream inside.

"Lucy, tell me. You have to," Levy encouraged her friend. They were now sitting face to face on the couch and Levy was holding Lucy from the shoulders. Lucy took a deep breath trying to calm herself.

"The worst part is that I didn't resist." There, there it was. Out and aloud. Lucy rested her head against Levy's shoulder. "And it's not just that I didn't resist, but it was almost like I wanted it, too. Those two… I have never felt anything like that before! When they came to me, the air was pure sex. I was afraid at first, but my body absolutely gave up. And oh my God, how I enjoyed it! I think I've never had such sex. They were like animals and I was their prey. I have never felt so wanted in my life! I forgot everything about Natsu the moment they touched me!"

Lucy was now getting hysterical and Levy tried to calm her down.

"I can't understand how I forgot Natsu! How could I enjoy it? I can never forgive myself enjoying it!"

"It's okay, it's okay…" Levy tried to comfort in a calm voice and embraced Lucy. "Thanks for telling me, Lucy. Now I can tell you something, that might help you forgive yourself."

Lucy stared Levy in the eyes. She had expected Levy to be shocked, not calm. She had expected Levy to loathe her instead of comforting her. But Levy looked nothing like shocked or loathing. She smiled with hope in her eyes.

"Umm, Gajeel sort of suspected, that something like this had happened, and he explained me some dragon slayer physiology before sending me here." Levy was now getting on her comfort zone. "The human species, I mean we people, mostly communicate by speech, but animals have other methods of communication as well. Since dragon slayers share some features with dragons, they also share some means of communication with dragons. And I'm coming to a point with this all," Levy noted, when she saw a bored look sneaking on Lucy's face. "So one method of communication, that animals use but people can't usually notice is scent. Animals secrete tiny chemicals called pheromones. These chemicals can for example warn other animals of danger or mark territory. They have many functions."

Lucy was trying to understand why Levy was babbling about some chemicals and animals. She was sort of amused when she noticed how happy Levy was lecturing all this difficult stuff.

"And now for the part that interests you," Levy continued. "There is a class of pheromones called sex pheromones. They act like a mating call. Like an invite to have sex. Male animals secrete sex pheromones when they are sexually agitated. Usually these pheromones increase the sex drive in the females as well. Gajeel told me, that dragon slayers have very strong pheromone secretion. Other dragon slayers are eminently affected because of their good sense of smell, but humans will get affected as well, especially if the secretion is strong." Levy glanced at Lucy's confused expression and decided to make it slightly easier.

"Lucy, dragon slayers have these tiny, tiny scent chemicals that you can't see or really even smell, but that will make you want to have sex with them."

Lucy was letting the information to sink. Dragon slayers had chemicals that made women want them. It sounded like they had a special magic for getting laid.

"So, umm, me wanting to have sex with Sting and Rogue was like this animal thing to do?" Lucy asked hesitantly.

"Yes, exactly! It's purely biological," Levy beamed at her. "And you know, I think I know exactly what I'm talking about because sometimes, when Gajeel wants me, it's like my whole mind stops functioning properly and it just sex I can think of –" she suddenly quieted and realized what she had just said. Her cheeks reddened immediately when she got embarrassed of her own words.

Lucy smiled and let the new thought fill her mind: I wasn't her fault. She shouldn't blame herself.

**TBC**


	4. Healing the Wounds

**AN:** Final chapter, here we go! :)

###

Natsu was wandering around the woods in the East Forest. He had first left Magnolia to climb a nearby mountain, but the deserted mountain top got lonely pretty quickly and he had decided to return to the East Forest. Here he had spent his childhood years playing and training. Here he knew the animals and the animals knew him. He ate fish from the river and slept in the trees. He was just wandering. The nature around him was relaxing.

"What do you spend all you days in the forest for, boy?" Asked a grumpy voice.

Natsu jumped. He hadn't sensed anyone nearby. Dammit. He should be able to sense all the creatures in the forest. He turned and couldn't first find the source of the sudden voice. Startled of the fact that he still couldn't sense the the one speaking, he let his glance bounce in the forest.

"Here, look up, you stupid boy," the voice said half annoyed, half amused.

Natsu looked up and saw the pink haired granny sitting on a tree branch, giving him an annoyed look.

"Oh, you," Natsu acknowledged Porlyusica and turned back to the direction he had been going.

"Wait, boy! What are you doing in my forest? You've been here all week. I'm starting to get annoyed, you know."

"I just want to be alone. Don't bother me, you old hag."

Porlyusica appeared in front of Natsu in a flash.

"Who are you calling an old hag?" she questioned furiously. "The problem is, boy, that I don't want you, or anyone else for that matter, loitering in my forest. You seem to be here because you are troubled and I guess you won't leave until your troubles leave you. Right, boy?"

Natsu was eyeing Porlyusica. Damn hag who couldn't keep her nose out of his business.

"As the situation is what it is, I don't see any other way to get you out except fixing your problems," Porlyusica continued, obviously annoyed by the situation. "So boy, tell me what is troubling you and I will see if we can get it fixed."

###

Natsu had explained the things as shortly as possible and Porlyusica was now deep in her thoughts.

"Beastly things you are, you dragon slayers… Beastly things," she muttered in her thoughts. "But it is only to be expected. Raised by dragons you are, after all. And of all creatures on earth, dragons are truly in their own class. Dragons are jealous hoarders. They don't want to share."

Natsu sat on a tree trunk and listened the muttering of the pink haired, evil looking granny. He knew already he didn't want to share.

"I'm afraid I cannot directly help you with you problem, boy. But there might be a way to overcome you feelings," Porlyusica said, finally coming to a conclusion. "You are still young and unaccustomed to control you dragon feelings. However, I believe some dragon slayers have been able to suppress their dragon instincts by training their minds."

Natsu listened to Porlyusica carefully. He had never really tried to touch the dragon inside him. Usually his dragon instincts surfaced only in battles, and in battles they were welcome.

"So granny, how do I train to suppress my dragon instincts?" Natsu asked intrigued.

"I don't know," Porlyusica answered and Natsu felt like somebody had just dropped a brick in his stomach. Of course the hag didn't know!

"However," Porlyusica continued, "you are lucky to have anohter dragon slayer, the iron dragon slayer, in you guild. Being your senior, he might have some idea how you could train yourself."

###

After his peculiar encounter with Porlyusica, Natsu rushed back in to the guild. He was really glad Lucy wasn't anywhere near when he rushed in. Gajeel shot a look at him the moment he stepped in.

"Natsu! Where have you been?" he heard Mirajane asking sweetly.

"Natsu! You've made all the girls really worried," Gray accused.

But Natsu just shoved down all the welcomes and all the where have you beens. He walked straight to Gajeel. Gajeel looked him with interest in his sharp eyes.

"Umm, Gajeel," Natsu spoke with a low voice, trying to avoid anyone else in the room to hear him. "I think you could.. Or umm, I might need.. Umm.. Dammit! I need your help, man" Natsu spat in distaste. It was not like he had ever wanted to ask help from the idiot. He just didn't have a choice. Not if he wanted to have his Lucy back.

A faint smile flickered on Gajeel's lips as he tried to keep serous face. Oh, how he wanted to laugh. At least a little! It was Natsu Dragneel asking for help after all! He, however, knew that if he now laughed at the face of the stubborn pink haired youngster, Natsu would never accept his help. So the iron dragon slayer fought to keep himself contained.

"Sure thing, Salamander," he said. "Let's go".

Everybody in the guild were anguished to realize that Natsu, who had just returned, had now disappeared again taking Gajeel with him. This time, however, Levy knew they would come back as soon as Gajeel had pounded everything he knew about controlling his dragon instincts into Natsu's head. Knowing Natsu's learning capabilities, it might take time though.

###

Natsu was standing behind Lucy's door. He heard Lucy moving in her room through the door, but he didn't dare to knock. It had been so long since he had seen Lucy. Lucy had been in his thoughts through all the weeks he had spent training with Gajeel, but now he was slightly afraid to see her in reality. The training had been tedious and irritating. Usually he trained by lifting boulders, punching trees and fighting Gray, Gajeel or Erza, but now Gajeel had made him go through some absolutely dreary exercises. Such as meditating. God dammit he hated meditating. Sitting in your spot for hours and trying to connect with your dragon side. Unsurprisingly, he had been terrible at meditating. Gajeel had been laughing at him and mocking him, but he couldn't give up. In the end he had barely acquired level, in which he could consciously either reinforce or suppress his dragon instincts. It required still huge amount of concentration from him and he couldn't keep it up for very long at a time, but Gajeel believed it was enough for him to get over the worst with Lucy. He hoped Gajeel was right.

Natsu stood still behind the door. He should knock. He would see Lucy again. Would Lucy smile at him? Things had been quite terrible between them before he left. He hoped Lucy would understand.

He knocked. He listened the sound of Lucy's footsteps when she neared the door. Sound of the lock being opened. Creak of door as light showered the dim corridor he was standing in. Lucy was standing in front of him, her blond hair shining in the light. She looked like she was about to smile. She was happy to see him, but she wasn't sure what was going to happen. She stood there for a moment, expecting Natsu to say something.

Natsu looked Lucy in front of him. So beautiful. She was everything he had longed for during their time apart. At the same time the young dragon slayer's mind was working hard. Concentrating in all the positive things about Lucy. Diminishing every instinct of his dragon side. Diminishing his smell. It was difficult and not smelling properly felled like blocking away half of his senses. The whole world seemed so dull and uninteresting. The scent of Lucy was now moderated so that it didn't fill up his head anymore. It did disgust him slightly, but he didn't have the urge to run from it. He could face this.

Natsu took a step forward and embraced Lucy, who melted in his arms. They had both been so lonely for the past months. Lucy inhaled Natsu, got absorbed in the familiar hotness of Natsu's body, and felt secured by the strong arms around her. Natsu was back.

"Lucy, I can be with you only for a short time now. Let's not talk. Just, please understand me." Natsu looked her with pleading eyes and she nodded.

Natsu lifted Lucy to his arms and carried her to her bed. He gently placed her onto the fluffy mattress and started peeling her clothes. He had always adored Lucy's body. Now he felt like he had to touch everything in her. Every spot of her beautiful skin.

Lucy did not resist. He enjoyed Natsu going through her body slowly, inch by inch. He caressed and kissed her skin, sucked her nipples and her tummy. Natsu was cleansing her, removing the past events in his own way.

When Natsu removed her panties, she was ready for him. To Natsu, joining her was like coming home. They moved slowly in unison. Natsu's warmth was covering Lucy and his weight pressed her gently down to her bed as they moved. She felt safe. She sensed that Natsu wouldn't last long.

"I love you," she whispered in Natsu's ear and felt how he climaxed. She was content.

"I love you, too," Natsu whispered. "I'm so sorry I have to go now. I'll promise it'll get easier."

And Natsu knew it would get easier. Little by little, he would drive away the smell of other males on Lucy and replace it by his own. Only his. And he would make Lucy completely his again. _His._

###

**AN:** The end! I really hope you guys like it! At least I'm proud finishing it.

And so the fic ended up being a NaLu love story. What a surprise, haha :P I was really exited when I was writing the whole Sting and Rogue episode, but in the end it was Natsu who had to grow most during this fic! :D [Edit: Author decided to remove the word epic from this author note remembering how completely different level some really epic stories are :DDD Point taken dear reviewers! :D]


	5. Epilogue

Lucy sat by her window watching and listening the rainy day outside. One month. Natsu had been coming to her almost every evening for one month now. First it had been hardly half an hour. They had made love in a haste and while she still wanted to lye beside him he had to leave. At first it had been heart breaking for her, giving up him just when she got him back. But as time went by she got used to his visits. Fortunately the visits also grew slightly longer every time. This evening Natsu had stayed for two hours. Yet, she still felt empty inside when he disappeared in the rain.

###

Natsu was walking outside. A smell of looming snowstorm hanged in the air. He was walking home from Lucy's. Two months. They had been now able to see each other for two whole months. Natsu was still doing his training, although he didn't really feel that his concentration was getting any better any more. Most progress came now with the fading smell of Sting and Rogue replaced by his own scent. Today they had spent four hours together, cozily by the fireplace. The first days of winter were brisk and Lucy hated the cold weather. Natsu enjoyed winter. Mostly because during the winter time Lucy loved his warmth most.

###

Three months. Lucy couldn't believe how long this process was. Although they saw each other every day, the progress was awfully slow. Lucy felt alone. She felt alone because they couldn't go to missions together. They couldn't spent days together. They couldn't really have fun with their friends anymore. Being with Lucy still required a lot of concentration from Natsu. It was easiest when they were alone. They also wanted to use their time being intimate. But since their time per day was limited, this meant they practically never spent time together in the company of their friends. It was very weird for their relationship, considering that time spent with their friends had been their starting point. They had never spent so much time alone. Lucy loved spending time with Natsu and healing the wounds, but she also felt they needed more air, more outside world!

###

Natsu was blissful. This had required four months hard work, but he had finally been able to spend the whole day in close proximity with Lucy. They had been in the guild building at the same time. Not exactly together all the time, but in the same building still. And they had spent the evening together as always. Natsu had noticed how Gray and Erza were smiling at them, seeing them being casually around each other. To Natsu, it had been as if the whole guild was radiating warmth towards them. All the guild members were joyful. Most of the guild had never found out what had happened exactly – Gajeel and Levy never told anyone what they knew – but everybody had been equally worried of Natsu and Lucy. A curtain of depression had shadowed the guild ever since the incident and now it was slowly rising. The guild was breathing more freely again.

###

"Can't you stay for the night?" Lucy asked Natsu. Her eyes were filled with melancholy. She knew the answer. Natsu couldn't sleep in her presence because he still couldn't relax. It was devastating.

"I'm sorry, Lucy. I still can't." Natsu's voice was pained and she regretted asking the question. He was equally frustrated with the situation. She shouldn't push him. She knew he did his best. They were almost back to normal now. Almost. If they only could spend the night together.

###

Natsu was sitting in Lucy's room while she was clattering about in the kitchen. Natsu was exited. He was about to lower his guard. Let his dragon free. Let his full senses come back. He had noticed last night with Lucy that he couldn't sense the distraction he had constantly felt with her until now. His senses had been suppressed by the time, but either he had suddenly become much better at controlling his smelling or then something in Lucy's scent had changed. He had been waiting this moment for a half a year now. He was agitated.

Natsu pulled all his concentration inwards. He concentrated in the mental walls he had been fortifying all these six months. These walls separated his dragon side from the outside world. Natsu carefully started lowering the walls. His body tingled. He was awaking. All his senses were awaking. He suddenly distinguished two cats meowing in an alley nearby. A boat passing Lucy's house. He could now better see all details in dark corners of Lucy's room. Feel the smooth material of the couch against the bare skin of his arms. The clattering from the kitchen was amplified. Natsu now knew Lucy was making chamomile tea.

And then Natsu felt it. He was completely surrounded by Lucy. All the fragrances of Lucy mixed together in her room. Her shampoo. Her perfumes. Natsu smelled Lucy being tired and sleepy. He also smelled her waking up. He smelled her freshness, when she came from the shower. The detergents she used to wash her clothes. The musty smell of the makeup she used. The sweet berry fragrance of her lip gloss. The feminine scent of Lucy that always grew stronger when she wanted him. Everything was mixing as a colourful symphony in Natsu's head. He concentrated in the scents that had distracted him previously. He could still distinguish the scent of Sting and Rogue, but they were one in a million! Completely overpowered by him. Almost vanished. Wiped out. Natsu felt intoxicated.

Lucy was standing in front of Natsu, when he opened his eyes. Her eyes were inquisitive. She could see the joy and relaxation on Natsu's face and body.

"I think I can stay the night." Natsu finally said and the warmth of happiness started spreading in Lucy's body.

Although Natsu could have finally slept in Lucy's presence neither of them got much sleep that night. With all his senses wide opened, Natsu couldn't get quite enough of his mate.

**AN:** **I got pretty attached to the ideas of dragon slayer magic I came up with in this fic. I've started with a new fic, called 'Dragon Slayer Magic'. It is a sequel to this one, although I'm going to have quite a different focus in that fic. It will concentrate in Natsu's magic and his growth and also in other dragon slayers. I'm really exited with all the ideas I've got for that one. :) For this fic, however, this is the final good bye. :)**


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